Court



J 25 1940 H. B. EATON. 2D `une COURT ts-Sheet l Filed Feb. 20, 1935 3Shee June 25, 1940. H. B. EATON. 2D

..3 Sheets-Sheet 2 COURT Filed Feb. 20, i955 June 25, 1940. H. B. EATON,2D

2,205,398 COURT Filed Feb. 20, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IGH@ lNveN-roR /6Aff/wwf 5 E770/V' l ATTORN EY Patented June 2.5, 1940 STATES rrsNr QFCOURT Application February 20, 1935, Serial No. '7,327

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to a court, to the deck and Wall structure usedtherein, and to the method of making the same.'- More particularly theinvention relates to a court having prefabri cated deck and wallstructure and to the method of making the prefabricated unit.

Prior to my invention various games have been played upon smooth courtsrequiring a smooth surface which Will not interfere with the play,either by injury to the players' feet or by tripping the player, byproducing irregular or freak rebounds of the ball or other playing piecefrom going to far afield if it should be missed by one of the playersthe court is ordinarily partially or j entirely surrounded by a backstop or Wall .which is preferably openvvork so as to permit free passageof Wind and light therethrough.

Prior to my invention such courts have com monly been made by levelingand compacting the earth or by forming a hard surface thereon such asasphalt or concrete which will provide a permanently level rebound andplaying surface and then erecting a net around the court to serve `as abackstop. The building of the court in this way is both difficult andexpensive, especially if the surface is made oi asphalt or concrete; andif the surface is of compacted earth or clay it requires constantattention to keep it level and in conditionfor play, and furthermorecannot be used except when the ground is dry.

It is one object of my invention to provide for the use of wood for suchcourts. As compared with concrete, asphalt and even rolled clay the Woodyields resiliently to the step of the players,

, and thus is much easier on their feet, relieving them from one of theprime sources of tiring. This difference has been noticed by manyplayers, especially between sod or lawncourts and hard surfaced courts;but lav/n courts have the disadvantage of not being perfectly smooth sothat the surface may interfere with the rebound. Contrasted to this,wood may provide the most perfect rebound surface of any of thematerials available for use in courts.

I do not claim to be the rst tol have tried wooden courts, but by myinvention I'utilize more fully the advantagesl of and eliminate thedisadvantages heretofore experienced with wood in such use.

An object of my invention is to provide aY court construction which canbe prefabricated at the mill and easily erected or dismantled in anydesired location, which will be relatively inexpensive, which will besuperior for all playing purposes and which can be used under any andall Weather conditions. It is also an object ci my invention to providean improved deck construction for general use Whenever a Wooden orsimilar deck is suitable, an improved Wall construction and in improvedmethod by which walls can be constructed with iiexible material heldtaut by a frame.

ln the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a preferred embodimentof my invention by Which these objects may be achieved and certaininodiiications thereof. These are given for purposes of illustration inorder that the invention may be more readily understood and applied bythose skilled in the art, and are not to be taken as in any Way limitingthe invention to the forms shown in the drawings.

Figure l is a perspective view of a court em# bodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the court shown inFigure l.

Figure 3 is" a fragmentary plan view of one side panel before erection.

Fig, 3a is a fragmentary plan View of a panel similar to that shown inFig. 3, but using a different type of Wire mesh.

Figure 4 is a plan view partly broken away of the deck used in the courtof Figure l;

Figure 5 isf a fragmentary elevation of section of the court.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal vsection similar to Figure 2 but on a largerscale and with central portions broken away. Thisy section is taken on.line 6-6 of Figure '7.

Figure '7 isa cross-section taken at the corner of the court just abovethe deck taken `on line 'i-l of Figure 6. l

Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevation taken at the bottom and end ofFigure 7.

Figure 9 is a longitudinal section through a sleeper oi' the deckshowing a modified'construc tion.

Figure l0 is a perspective view of a modified fastening means with itscentral portion broken away. y Referring to the drawings, I have shownin Figure 1 a perspective on a small scale of a court. constructedaccording to my invention, having a deck I0 and sidewalls I'i. The deckas more clearly shown in Figures 2, 4 and 6 is constructed of sleepers-I2 which may for example be `8 X 8 timbers and which may be heldoi theground by Vconcrete blocks 3l! positioned so that the sleepers I2 lielevel upon them.

On these sleepers ,e are positioned panels `it consisting of parallelboards or short planks l5 the net spaced a short distance from oneanother to provide for drainage and air circulation and held together bybattens or cross members I6 which are nailed or screwed or otherwisesecured to the surface boards or planks I5, from the bottom so that nonails or other fastening means are present on the upper surface to workloose and trip or injure the feet of the players or interfere with therebound of the playing pieces.

The end of the panels and preferably the end of each board therein maybe secured to the sleepers I2 as shown for example in Figure 7 and thisfastening should be by means of screws 3'I or other means which will notwork loose and above the surface of the panels. In Figures 2, 4, 6, 7and 8, I have shown each panel with two battens I6 between the ends. Oneof these battens is spaced farther from the adjacent end than the other,the difference being at least as great as the width of the batten andthe end of each batten extends beyond the sides of the panel. In thisway the end of each batteri extends under the adjoining panel, and the4panels thus are interlocked and held flush at the playing surface.

As shown in Figures 6 and 7 the ends of the panel board are screwed tothe sleepers, and the battens I 6 are positioned intermediate betweenthe sleepers. If battens are placed at or close to the end of thepanels, they may themselves rest upon the sleepers and serve not only totie the ends of the panel boards I5, but also to secure them to thesleepers. This is shown for example in Figure in which the battens I6lie on the tcp of the sleeper I2. The battens are nailed to the panelboard I5 from the bottom and thus the nails I9 are securely held againstworking loose by the sleeper I2. The battens I6 are secured to thesleeper lI2 by screws or nails 20 inserted between the panel boards I5as shown.

In Figure 10, I have illustrated a stamped metal strip which may replacethe batten I6 and the nails and screws I9 and 20. In this case a metalstrip I6a serves as the hatten and from this prongs Illa are stampedoutand upwardly and prongs 20a are stamped out and turned downwardly.These strips are preferably used with panels having intermediate battensI6 (which may also be similar to the battens I 6a, but would preferablyhave only the turned up prongs Ict) which serve not only to hold thepanel boards flush between the sleepers I2, but also to hold the panelsbefore they are assembled into the deck. In assembling the deck withthese modifled battens I6a, after the sleepers have been laid inposition the strips IISa may be laid along the top of the sleepers andthe prongs 26a. then driven into the sleepers I2. The panels I44 maythen be laid onto the sleepers so that each board rests upon one of theprongs Illa and the boards then driven onto these prongs so as to besecured thereby exactly as they vwould be secured by the nails I9 andthe nails or screws 20 as shown in Figure 9.

As shown in Figure 6 the abutting ends of the boards I5 are preferablycut back slightly on an oblique angle from top to bottom. This expedientI have found serves to prevent small stones, etc. from becoming wedgedbetween the ends and loosening the fastening means by serving as afulcrum to pry the boards apart when 'they are sprung by the weight ofthe players. With the ends cut back, as shown, any pieces small enoughto pass between the ends of' the boards will be readily accommodated inthe wider space near the bottom and consequently will not have anyserious effect upon the boards or their fastenings.

The back stops in this preferred embodiment of my invention are alsosecured to the sleepers I2 and are also erected from prefabricated unitsor panels.

As shown, each'panel consists of a frame and a facing of nettingstretched over the frame. The frame, as shown, has side members 25, topand bottom members 26 and bracing struts 2'I. The netting 28 isstretched over this frame and drawn onto the sides where it is tacked.

In order to hold the netting more securely and to provide a smoothcontinuous, surface at the joints between adjacent panels I prefer tobevel one side of each frame member as shown for example in Figure 7. Acomplementary strip 30 is fitted over this beveled portion after theWire has been secured in place and this strip is then secured to thecorresponding frame member. A most satisfactory way of achieving thisresult is to use frame members of rectangular cross section, but to sawone corner off on an angle, leaving a complementary strip which afterthe mounting of the netting 28 may be secured again in its originalposition. 'I'he saw kerf is of substantially the same Width as thethickness of the netting so that the surface of the strip 30 willnecessarily be flush with and level from the corner of the frame memberwhich establishes the plane of the netting between frame members.

The design of this panel is intended to fit it for use in games wherethe ball or other playing piece is played after rebound from the backstop. In order to achievethis purpose it is necessary that the netting28 should at all times be held taut so that it will constitute asubstantially plane and uniform surface. This I have achieved in thepresent invention partially by making the back stop of relatively narrowpanels and partially by novel features of the design of these panels. Byusing prefabricated panels it is possible to stretch the nettinguniformly by mill apparatus and Ato apply it in such uniformly stretchedcondition. By making relatively narrow panels irregularities in thenetting itself may readily be taken up by stretching and this isfacilitated if a diamond mesh or other type of netting having thestrands running in zigzag through the fabric is used, e. g., as shown at28a in Fig. 3a.. The stretching of such zigzag strands tends to stretchthe fabric in both directions so that even with somewhat irregularstretching and fastening at spaced points, the stretch will bedistributed throughout the area of the netting and a uniform result thusobtained.

An important and novel feature of these panels as shown for example inFigure 3 is that the frame members 25 and 26 are sprung inwardlyslightly and held in this position while the netting is being applied.The netting is then secured` to the panel frame in this condition withas full and uniform stretching as is possible and the frame members thenreleased. Upon release the frame members of course tend to again assumea straight condition, and due to their resiliency will hold the nettingtaut and straight at all times. Furthermore, since the back stop is madeby bolting these panels together, the bolts 38 as shown in Fig. 7 may beused to draw the bowed members 25 back into line, if their ownresiliency is not sufficient to adequately stretchv the netting.

As already stated the back stop is erected by bolting the side framemembers 25 of adjacent 76? panels together and securing the wall thusconstructed to the playing deck I0.

If desired, the construction may be made more rigid by bolting the topframe member 26 to a top rail 32. This top rail may also serve to drawthe sprung member 2S back into line and thereby further to stretch thenetting.

The corner pests 33 connect the top rails 32 and thus make a rigid andself-sustaining wall.

The bottom frame members 26 may be simi larly bolted to a bottom rail ordirectly to the boards I5 of the deck ID. I prefer, however, to use ananchor and brace members 35-35 as shown for example in Figures 6, 7 and8.

The anchor member 35 as shown, is comprised of a metal strip or platescrewed or otherwise secured to the outer side of the frame members 26of adjacent screen panels and either to the deck panels I4 or to thesleepers I2. The lower ends of these plates 35 may be straight and.

screwed flat against the sleeper as shown at the sides of the court inFigures 6, 7 and 8, or bent under the floor panels as shown at the endsof the court.

In Fig. 5, I have. shown a portion of the court structure in which thenet posts 39 are mounted. As shown in this gure the posts 39 are securedby means of lag screws 4U to special cross members 4I which in turn aresecured in any suitable manner to the sleepers I2.

In the accompanying drawings and in the above specification I haveattempted only to describe a preferred embodiment of my invention andvarious modifications thereof and the principles involved therein insuch a way that those skilled in the art may apply my invention to anygiven conditions and requirements. I have not attempted to mentionexhaustively all of the various modifications which are known to me, butI believe that in the light of the above specification and theaccompanying drawings, all of these and others will be readily apparentto those skilled in the art and that numerous changes and modificationswill therefore be made in applying my invention to various conditions.All of these are of course to be included within the scope of thepresent application.

I claim:

1. A portable playing court comprising support members spaced a distancegreater than two and less than seven feet, separable deck membersmounted thereon adapted to spring slightly between said support membersunder the step of a man, a vertical wall securedand braced on saidsupport members and comprising vertical panels secured together andiiush at their inner surfaces, said panels comprising peripheral framesand wire netting stretched across the face of the frame and secured onthe sides thereof, said netting being sufiiciently small mesh andsuliiciently tightly stretched so that a ball rebounds therefromsubstantially along the plane of its incident night as if rebounded froma rigid surface.

2. A playing court as defined in claim 1 in which the peripheral framesof the vertical panels are beveled toward their outer edges and -leveledby a complementary strip secured thereover which serves at once to clampthe netting and to provide a level rebound surface at the edge of saidpanel.

3. A panel adapted for use in an enclosure such as a playing court andthe like which comprises a peripheral frame and netting stretchedthereon, the frame comprising members substantially rigid but capable ofslight elastic flexing, said members being secured together near theirends and being flexed slightly inward whereby to exert elastic tensionon the netting to hold it taut and the netting being composed of zig-Zagstrands, whereby a stretching in either direction or at any point willtend to take up any slack even though such stretching is not directlyapplied in line with the slack.

4. A panel as defined in claim 3 in which the frame members are beveledtoward the outside and a complementary strip is secured thereon and overthe netting whereby to clamp the netting securely to the frame and toprovide a surface substantially flush and continuous with the plane ofthe netting within the frame.

5. A panel adapted for use in an enclosure such as a playing court andthe like which comprises aperipheral frame comprising members beveledtoward the outer edgeand having the netting secured thereon, andcomplementary strips secured thereon so as to clamp the netting betweensaid strips and said members and to provide a iiat surface substantiallycontinuous with the plane of the netting between the strips.

' 6. An enclosure comprising a plurality of panels substantially asdefined in claim 5 secured together in flush relation whereby to providean easily erected upward wall having a substantially true and continuousplane surface.

7. An enclosure comprising a plurality of panels substantially asdefined in claim 3, their 'side frame members being drawn' together insubstantially flush relation whereby to tend to pull the frame membersback into line and thereby to stretch the netting taut and form anopenwork wall having a substantially plane and continuous surface fromwhich balls will rebound in a substantially predictable manner.

HENRY B. EATON, II.

